History of Lionheart Tactics
Over one thousand years ago, evil broke out into the world and swallowed the greatest of mankind’s empires, the kingdom of Chronos. To this day no one knows exactly what happened. Chronos was the crown jewel of the world’s cities; a graceful sprawl of buildings, churches and palaces that rose and fell across sun dappled hills. Her power lay in magic which seemed to flow in an inexhaustible supply underneath her cobbles, stronger than anywhere else in the lands. Magic was power and in those lost days her magi used it to work wonders. They conquered the world and built gateways throughout it that connected all the people. They flew through the air on boats made of nothing more than wind and cloud. They threw down the dusty old gods of the past and banished their servants setting mankind above all others. For a brief golden age, if something was dreamt of it the Lords and Ladies of Chronos could create it. But in a fortnight, the greatest empire known to mankind collapsed into ruin, vanishing overnight. Some say the magi who ruled it had delved too deep into lost lore and summoned demons up into the world. Others claim a single spell or curse twisted its inhabitants, changing them into dreadful inhuman ‘things’. The final days are lost to history; the truth of what went wrong might never be discovered. What few fragments of writing remain talk about a … darkening. Men began to hear … whispering from empty rooms. Women swore they saw things move in mirrors or pools of water. Figures standing all dark and blurred behind them or their reflection grin all evil-like. The few remaining priests who’d not abandoned their faith talked about rumors of a new ruler hiding away in the palace, an unseen master who spoke to his followers in darkened rooms driving them on to worse and worse acts. Day after day his malignant nature spread through the population. Magic became less wondrous and increasingly tainted. The days of wonders was over. The nights of terror were in full flow. Finally, one dark night the walls of reality grew strained and just … broke. Snapped like cold glass underfoot. And the King smiled as the demons that had gathered behind the reflections in the city’s mirrors came tumbling out. All contact with the empire just … stopped. For one whole week Chronos fell silent. No messages came out of it. None of the magical travelling gates opened. No one who went towards it ever returned. Then, they came. An endless stream of black clad soldiers moving tirelessly forward in perfect unison. More than the eye could count. Like a midnight sea washing over the land. Some say they were what remained of the Chronopians, damned and enslaved to the darkness they’d foolishly followed. Others shook their heads and swore the empire was dead as an open grave and that these things were devils marching out past it through the gates of Hell. Soon the survivors had a new name for them. They called them the Armies of the Mirror King. They marched out in all directions and every race or nation that they encountered were crushed and slain. Heroes burnt, whole races vanished in the inferno. Within a month they had broken the backs of countless kingdoms and empires that had lasted for centuries. Finally, victorious over all others, they came at last to the scattered Eastern Kingdoms, a quiet corner of the world where the refugees had fled for protection. There the last of the old gods, the mother goddess Gaea spoke to a young woman, a crippled soldier. She lifted her up and crowned her the High Queen of the free people, making her the first Champion of the Goddess. The desperate people rallied to her banner and together, united, they met the enemy at the plains of Solumnia. Met them and gave them pause, driving them back at horrendous cost. As the enemy floundered the high queen commanded the great dwarf lords to raise up a magical wall, higher than a mountain, higher than any enemy could ever breach. They did, burning their very souls away as they commanded the rock and earth to rise up and seal the darkness away from the east. The land shook like a dog coming out of water, entire cities collapsed as the ground shuddered but the deed was done. The enemy were sealed away and for centuries the east has slept soundly, apparently free from the threat of the Mirror Armies Tonight marks the thousandth year to the day of the creation of the wall. In Lionheart Tactics, you take on the role of a young man, a king of a small nation who has dreamt his whole life of emulating and surpassing the deeds of his ancestors but sure that nothing like that would ever happen. Until the Mirror Armies return. You must unite the free people; finding heroes from each and every race to fight against this threat. Some will come willingly. Some will need to be fought for or against before they recognize your leadership. Category:Other Types Category:Lore